Sinister Forces
by ArtieFanFiction
Summary: Gibbs is in Mexico and comes to the rescue for an unknown woman who will push his every nerve while dragging him and his team into one of their most trying cases. Pairing: Gibbs&OtherFemaleCharacter. Set at the end of Season 8...
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note :**_

_Gibbs is in Mexico and comes to the rescue for an unknown woman who will push his every nerve while dragging him and his team into one of their most trying cases. _

_Pairing: Gibbs&OtherFemaleCharacter. _

_Set at the end of Season 8..._

_Enjoy…_

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Gibbs awoke to the sound of seagulls and waves crashing against the shore. The breeze smelt salty and the heat of the sun was already penetrating the beach house. He'd arrived in Mexico the previous night, determined to finalize Mike Frank's affairs. He'd also needed to get away from everything for a while and think about all that had happened.

The port to port killer.

SecNav's involvement.

EJ and her situation with DiNozzo.

And Mike's death on his doorstep.

Yes, he'd known that Mike was sick and would have died in a few months. But it had happened on his watch, on his turf, on his doorstep. So damn it, he felt totally responsible and utterly gutted.

Getting up, he grabbed a 6 pack of beers and decided that sailing along the coast on The Kelly was exactly what he needed. Everyone knew he built boats, but no one knew how much he loved sailing.

An hour later as he worked on sails and the boat launched forward he reveled in the freedom being out on the ocean brought him. It has been too long since he'd last done this. Taken time for himself. Enjoyed himself.

DiNozzo and the team had been surprised when Director Vance had offered him two weeks off after Mike's funeral and he's taken it.

"Boss, this isn't like the last time, right? You are coming back in two weeks?" DiNozzo had asked.

"Of course he is Tony. If he doesn't, we'll all just take a trip to Mexico and go and find him." Ziva had quipped.

He'd just grabbed his gear and headed out. "McGee, you're in charge."

"What?" Ziva'd complained.

"Ah, Boss. I'm your Senior Field Agent." Tony had whined.

"Thank you, Boss." McGee's smile was clearly audible in his voice.

They were a good bunch and they would play nice, Gibbs smiled as he finished a second beer.

As Gibbs sailed further along the coast, he spotted a shadow where the surf crashed into the remote and rough area of the coast, overgrown with wild scrubs and scatter with eroded, jutting rocks. At first he thought it was just some seaweed. But then he saw the shadow being swallowed up by the surf and a flesh of skin surfaced from the middle of the mix.

_What the…_ Gibbs changed course and headed toward the spot where the shadow had disappeared. He moved cautiously not wanting to crash into whatever he had seen. As the surf rose and hit into the rough coast again, he saw the shadow again. He headed closer and swore when he realized that the shadow was not seaweed or even an animal.

It was a person.

"Hey, can you hear me?" he shouted as he got closer.

But there was no response. The surf kept lifting the body and throwing it against the coast. As Gibbs maneuvered The Kelly closer he was acutely aware of the possibility that he could end up crashing into the coast as high tide was fully in force.

As the tide retreated, it pulled the body away from the coast and closer to him. He threw the life saver tube into the water and dived in after it, his hand firmly holding onto the rope that attached it the boat. Gibbs grabbed a hold of the person just as the tide threatened to crash back against the coast. He pulled on the rope until the tube was right next to him. He lifted the person, a woman, onto the tube before swimming back to the boat. Once there he got back into the boat and pulled the unconscious women into The Kelly.

Her clothes were ripped to shreds and she was covered in cuts and bruises.

_What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere,_ Gibbs scolded.

He pressed two fingers to her neck and was surprised but relieved to find a pulse. He watched her chest and saw it rise and fall rapidly.

_Thank God for small miracles. _

He tapped her face lightly grimacing at the bad bruise on her forehead and the cuts on her cheeks and chin.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Gibbs asked, tapping her face again. She didn't respond in any way other than to start shivering. Gibbs grabbed blanket, and started to cover her. That was when he noticed that her wrists were bound.

_Shit! What the hell happened to you?_ Gibbs wondered as he covered her and scanned the surrounding coast and ocean before redirecting The Kelly and heading back to the beach house.

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	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:**_

_Thank you for the reviews…_

_Here's the next chapter… Enjoy…_

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Anchoring The Kelly, Gibbs carried the unconscious, shivering woman in to the beach house. He headed straight into the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed. She was practically naked, shivering, bruised and battered everywhere.

He did a quick visual examination and didn't think that she had any broken bones. Her left temple was badly bruised as well as her left hip. And there was a myriad of cuts covering the left side of her body, some appeared to be deep and were oozing blood. He placed a towel against them and then covered her with a blanket.

Then he turned to her bound wrists, the rope was thick and soaked with salty sea water. He removed his knife from his pocket and gently cut through it. But the rope had already chafed and cut into her skin and the minute he started to remove it, her skin came away with it.

_Shit_, he swore as blood spurted out of the freshly opened wounds.

"Argh." She cried out coming suddenly awake.

She looked wildly at Gibbs, clearly disorientated and shouted, "Get… away… from… me."

"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"No… stay away… from me," she jerked, trying to pull her hands out of his grasp. Then her eyes rounded in shock as pain from all her injuries blazed to life.

"Argh… God." She gasped.

"Easy, I'm trying to help you." Gibbs said looking into her fear and pain filled eyes. "I have to get these ropes off."

"O...kay." she murmured as she took a shallow breaths. He watched her as he peeled the rest of the rope away.

"Argh…" she cried out as more skin tore away and more blood spurted out of her wrists.

"I'm sorry, damn it." Gibbs swore as he left her for a moment and returned with a towel which he wrapped around her wrists, to stem the bleeding.

She'd pulled herself up into a tight ball and was shivering uncontrollably despite the blanket that covered her and the heat blazing through the beach house ceiling.

"Who … are… you?"

"My name is Leroy Jethro Gibbs. What is your name?" Gibbs said as he retrieved his cellphone.

"Where… did you… find me?" she asked,

"Unconscious, out in the ocean." _Why won't you tell me your name? _

She closed her eyes as she swallowed, her shivers getting worse.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

She looked at him rapidly blinking her eyes, confusion, fear and pain all flirting across her face.

"I," she rubbed her head and squeezed her eyes tight against the pain. "I … don't … know."

_Amnesia? _Gibbs wondered.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I don't… know. I …" She looked frantically around the room. " I need … to get … out of here."

"You're going to the hospital." He said lifting his phone to his ear. "You're hurt and need medical attention."

"No!" She reared up onto her knees and grabbed his collar, knocking the phone out of his hand. "Argh… _no_ hospitals… _no_ doctors…"

"Hey take it easy." _What the hell is wrong with this woman?_

"Argh… _it's_ _too dangerous_."

_What?_

_Just who the hell are you and what the hell have you gotten yourself into? _Gibbs wondered as he felt her shiver against his chest and start to sag, all strength drained from her body.

"Please … Leroy… _it's too dangerous_ …" She gasped, her fingers slipping from his collar as her eyes rolled shut.

"Damn it."

He wrapped his arms around her and gently lowered her to the bed and covered her with the blanket again. She was out cold again.

_Who are you?_

Gibbs retrieved his phone from the floor and looked at her. He caressed her forehead and moved her short dark hair away from her face. He was surprised to find her hot to the touch.

"Damn it, you're burning up." Gibbs growled as he called Ducky.

"Jethro, how are you?"

"Ducky, how soon can you get to Mexico?"

"Why Jethro, are you hurt?"

"No," Gibbs explained the situation and Ducky agreed to be on the next flight out and to bring whatever medical supplies he could. With any luck he would arrive by that evening. He also advised Gibbs on what actions to take in the meantime to start treating the injured woman.

Next Gibbs took a photograph of her face and sent it to McGee.

Then he called McGee.

"Hey Boss?"

"I've sent you photo."

"Just received it."

"Ouch, who is she, Boss and what happened to her?" Tony asked.

"That's what I want McGee to find out." Gibbs said. "Get me everything you can on her."

"On it Boss."

"DiNozzo, I need you to take a leave of absence and join me in Mexico."

"Boss," Tony was surprised. "A holiday with you?"

"Not a holiday. Bring your gear and anything you need to set up direct coms with McGee. Ducky's coming too."

"Ah, a case." Tony smirked as Ziva scowled.

"Should I come too, Gibbs?" She asked.

"No, work the case from that end with McGee, but keep it under the radar."

"Okay." They answered in unisons

"And Ziva, sent over some clothes."

"Clothes?" Ziva questioned and Tony and McGee silently mouthed to each other.

"Yep clothes." Gibbs said. "McGee, call me as soon as you have a name."

That said Gibbs cut the call and turned back to his charge.

He drew back the blanket and removed the towel from her wrists. They were no longer bleeding but looked raw and no doubt would be painful. Then he noticed the sea salt caked up against her skin, coating the cuts and bruises on her face, arms and legs.

Ducky's words echoed in his head.

"_Remove all sea salt residue from her body. Clean her wounds and dress the deeper ones to prevent further infection. Force fluids down her throat as she is likely to be dehydrated. Administer Ibuprofen for the pain and fever. She may throw up what with having a head injury and possibly having swallowed a fair amount of sea water. But you have to try. Wake her every two hours and check her reflexes. If you can't wake her or her fever gets worse, I'm afraid you will have to take her to the hospital despite all her protests to the contrary."_

Gibbs considered calling Maria from the tavern two miles away to help, but then decided against it. Until he knew just who this unconscious woman was and what had happened to her he would keep her safe.

_Time to get you cleaned up. _

He headed into the bathroom and filled the tub with warm water. Then he returned to the bed and gently removed her shredded blouse, pants and underwear. She moaned but didn't awake. The full extent of her injuries was clearly visible.

_Damn it, you're going to be sore for days, _Gibbs observed as he took in the bruises across her torso and back.

As he carried her into the bathroom, he noted that she didn't have on any jewellery. Nor did she have any tattoos or other identifying marks on her body. She was of medium height, slender built with a fair complexion. She had dark almost black short hair and striking hazel green eyes. She was probably in her early thirties.

_Okay, this is going to hurt, but there's no way to avoid it_, Gibbs chided as he lowered her into the water.

She gasped and came awake so suddenly and violently, that Gibbs had to hold her in his arms to prevent her from hurting herself further.

"No." She shouted. "Let… me… go!"

"Calm down." He said as he released her into the warm water. "We have to wash the salt off your body."

"Argh," She grimaced in pain. "It burns."

"Shhh, I'm sorry." Gibbs hated having to cause her more pain in order to help her.

"_It … burns… oh God…"_ she whispered, shutting her eyes.

"You'll feel better in a moment." Gibbs promised as he gently brushed his hands over her skin, rubbing the salt away.

"What… what are you doing?" she gasped when she looked down are herself and saw his fingers against her naked body.

"Oh Jeez!" She slapped his hand away, pulled her legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees in an effort to cover herself.

"Hey, I'm trying to take care of you here!"

"I can manage. Get out." She retorted.

Gibbs glared at her, "Not a chance. You could pass out again."

"Listen here Mr. Leroy, I am not going to pass out and I can definitely manage to bath myself. Now, please just go."

"It's Gibbs."

"Leroy … Gibbs… whatever, argh… can you just go now?" her cheeks were flaming red and Gibbs didn't know whether it was from the fever, the pain, the bath or pure embarrassment.

_Oh Damn…_

_How did I get myself into playing nurse maid to this spitfire?_

"Two minutes and then I'm coming to get you." He growled as he walked out of the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thank you for reading… and for the reviews.**_

_**Here's the next installment… Enjoy and please review.**_

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Gibbs listened intently to her from the bedroom as he changed the bed sheets, removing the one covered in salt residue and blood stains. Next he got a bottle of water, the first aid kit and painkillers and placed them on the pedestal beside the bed.

"I'm coming in." he warned from the bathroom door and didn't wait for her reply.

"Just … hand me the towel … and leave."

"Sure," Gibbs replied, coming to stand beside the tub, the towel spread open in front of him.

"Give me that," she demanded as she stood up and reached for the towel.

Gibbs knew she would do that and he wasn't surprised when she gasped in pain and he had to grab her around her waist to keep her from falling over. He wrapped the towel around her as he lifted her shivering body into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. There he helped dry her body, despite her protests that she could manage.

"Put this on." He ordered handing her his grey U.S. Marines t-shirt. She pulled the t-shirt over her head and let the towel fall to the ground from under it.

"You… you a marine?" She asked looking at the t-shirt as it hung over her slender frame.

"Yep. Get into the bed before you fall over." He said.

"You always order people around like this?" she said as she got into the bed.

"Yep, now drink this." He said as he handed her two pills and the water.

"No, I can handle the pain."

"It's for the fever." Gibbs said. "Drink it or I'll force it down your throat."

"Fine." She replied, a spark of fear in her eyes. She took the pills and swallowed them with a bit of water.

"Drink some more." Gibbs said, forcing his voice to be calmer as he watched her shrink away from him.

She took another sip and then pushed the bottle against his chest. "No more. I'm too nauseous."

"I'm going to clean and dress the worst of your wounds, now." he said as he opened the first aid kit and sat down on the bed beside her.

She moved away from him and said, "No, it's not necessary."

He ignored her and placed the disinfectant, cotton swabs and bandages on the pedestal. He took her right hand into his and could feel the tension radiating through her body as she tried to pull it back.

"I said, no."

"For pete's sake, you're injured, exhausted and already running a fever. Do you want these cuts," he said lifting her wrist, "to become infected? Then I'll be forced to take you to a hospital."

"No, no hospitals." Her fear was palpable.

"Why?"

"I told you. It's too dangerous."

"Why?"

"They'll find me."

"Who will find you? And who are you?"

"I…" She looked at him and blinked a few times. "I don't know." She rubbed her head and grimaced. "Argh, I don't know who. I just know it's dangerous and they'll hurt me again if they find me."

"Okay, just calm down. You're safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you. But you've got to trust me and tell me whatever you can remember." He insisted as he forced her to make eye contact with him.

"I don't know what's real and what's not. I don't know who I am or who _they_ are. I don't know who you are but you haven't hurt me so I don't think you're one of them."

"I'm not one of them and I won't hurt you." Gibbs reassured her.

"I think I believe you." She said. "I mean, you've already had me naked and in your arms a few times today and you… you didn't hurt me."

"Great," Gibbs smirked. "I'm going to clean and dress your wounds and you're not going to fight me about it."

"Oh, okay." She said as she watched him closely. She let him clean her wrists, one at a time and then wrap them with bandaged. Then he applied a soothing salve to the cuts on her cheeks and chin. As he worked, she slid more comfortably into the bed, her head resting against the pillows. He felt her muscles start to relax as he applied the salve to her arms.

_Good, the meds are taking effect. _

When he touched her hip she winced sharply and tried to pull away.

"Sorry," he murmured as he looked more closely at the wound.

_Shit, looks like a bullet grazed you. _

He looked at her face, but her eyes were tightly shut as she tried to breathe through the pain. He worked quickly and dressed that wound before moving down her leg. By the time he was done, she appeared to be asleep. Gibbs covered her and headed into the kitchen. Taking a beer out of the fridge he called McGee.

"Boss? I was just about to call you."

"What can you tell me, McGee?"

"I got a hit on Interpol. She's a South African Naval Crime Investigations Agent. She's been working undercover for the last 4 months. She was reported missing by her CO two weeks ago when she failed to check in with him."

"Her name, McGee?"

"Ashley Johnson."

"Good job, McGee. Get me a full background check on her and I want to know everything about her latest op."

"On it, Boss."

As Gibbs hung up, he went back to the bedroom.

_Ashley Johnson, SA Naval Crime Investigations Agent._


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